Mo. Tobacco, Gambling Revenues Falling Short

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Missouri is looking for other sources of money for education and health care after experiencing shortfalls in gambling and tobacco revenues.

State budget director Linda Luebbering says revenues from casinos, cigarettes sales and the Missouri Lottery all are coming in lower than budgeted this year. Those revenues all are earmarked for education.

Gov. Jay Nixon is proposing to transfer $44 million from general revenues to make up for the lost education funding.

Missouri also is losing about $70 million of expected revenues from a legal settlement with tobacco companies, because an arbitration panel ruled the state failed to diligently enforce tobacco laws a decade ago.

Nixon is proposing to use general revenues to finance the health care programs that were supposed to get tobacco funds.